WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011

Unconventional strategy propelled Sutton to top of retail real estate world

Fresh off his joint $136 million purchase with SL Green of 1552 Broadway, the Times Square
commercial property that houses TGI Friday's, Jeff Sutton has become one of the most prominent
retail landlords in the city, The New York Observer said. According to the profile,
in which Sutton declined to participate (as he did for a recent story by The Real Deal on his
Manhattan activity), the Gravesend, Brooklyn-native started his march to the top in the early
1990s with a risky strategy: he would get the lease first, and then buy the space with the lease money.
He used the strategy first with Payless Shoes and then CVS, before landing his big break in 2002,
signing American Girl at 609 Fifth Avenue.

Now, he owns a portfolio worth nearly a $1 billion and commands some of the highest retail
rents in America, including the $20 million annual rent for the American Eagle store at 1551
Broadway, the $16 million first-year rent for the 18,400-square-foot Dolce & Gabbana shop
he's bringing to 717 Fifth Avenue, more than $11 million for Aeropostale at 1515 Broadway and
$7 million for the American Girl lease.

"He's a very tenacious guy; he's very charming; and I think the best attribute is that he knows
his business better than anybody," Andrew Mathias, the president of SL Green, a frequent collaborator
of Sutton's, told the Observer. "Ultimately, his retail intelligence sets him apart from everyone
else in the real estate business who's just leasing space; Jeff understands the mentality of his customer."